


Blue Sky Days

by SansPeridot



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Based on Lauren Zuke Fast Food AU, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Smut, F/F, Living Together, Past Relationship(s), Past jaspis, Slow Burn, lapidot - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-11
Updated: 2016-10-11
Packaged: 2018-08-21 21:21:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8260849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SansPeridot/pseuds/SansPeridot
Summary: Sometimes we all want to escape. Lapis Lazuli works at a fast food joint where the customers are obnoxious, but her co-workers are even worse. Meanwhile, Peridot Underwood is dead set on being the best assistant manager to ever set foot in that very same restaurant. The two couldn't be more different and they both know it. Eventually, one realizes that what they feel for the other might be... something special. Human AU based on a comic by Lauren Zuke.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Here's the start of a Lapidot story that won't end anytime soon. Updates will be as frequent as I can make them, but I can't put a schedule to it yet. Just keep an eye out.
> 
> Edit: Here's one of the comics that this story is based on: https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xu3k06Sj74M/V5aWs7u3y3I/AAAAAAAAJyw/C5b5TwQfJ1gkMEGmk1HKMHH79BGasqcSwCLcB/s1600/Z7.jpg  
> Along with a link to the whole zine, in case you wanted it: http://www.beachcitybugle.com/2016/07/su-zines-from-sdcc.html

Beach City was drowning in rain. For the past month sunshine had become a rare commodity and every day was tinted grey with rain clouds. Nobody had an explanation for it that went beyond "the weather being ripe for rain this time of year." With the rise and fall of the sun, the rain ebbed and flowed like the sea itself, covering everything in a damp mist that turned the sunshine into a mere memory. If it kept up, hearts unprepared for the deluge would find themselves drowning too.

I am so sick of this rain…

Lapis Lazuli felt what little joy remained inside her start to wither. Her eyes stared blankly ahead. There was noise all around like the incessant buzzing of insects. This was hell. It had to be. There was no other explanation. To think, some people called working in dumps like this a living.

"Do you even know what you're doing to the ecosystem with all this waste!?"

The shrill cry of the customer in front of her dragged on. Lapis wasn't sure how long this lady had been standing here ranting, but it must have been close to 15 minutes by now. A literal eternity in Lapis time.

"I'll have you know that I plan on speaking to the manager about this poor level of customer service!"

What had started as a simple order of a medium #6 with no drink had become a full fledged ordeal. As per usual, someone had been unsatisfied with Lapis' deadpan expressions and humorless way of asking for their order. When Miss My-Nose-Looks-Like-A-Bird's-Beak had asked if they used biodegradables here, Lapis had said in no uncertain terms that she didn't give a shit if anything here was biodegradable. Bird Nose had not taken it well, if the way she wrung her yellow hair in her hands was anything to go by.

"Excuse me?! I did not come here to be treated in such a disrespectful manner!!!"

Lapis had stopped listening to the particulars after the woman's voice had raised to a shriek. Working at this fast food joint was putting her on the fast track to an early grave. Each new customer only served to introduce her to a fresh, new form of suffering. She simply waited for a pause in the rant before she asked the mandatory question: 

"...Did you want fries with that?"  
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The shop's front door swung open, accompanied by a light breeze of wet air. Great, more eco-warriors here to tell me how I'm killing their planet... But instead of a tirade about climate change, Lapis was instead greeted by a much worse sight. The assistant manager.

"Another day another dollar! Ey, Lazuli?"

Striding right up to the front register was the store's second in command: Peridot Underwood. A 5 foot 3, pale and obnoxiously positive woman. Everything about her screamed "hard worker". Her uniform of black slacks, non-slip sneakers, white polo and red vest were immaculate. Even her name tag shined with a polished sheen. Short, sandy blonde hair clipped up neatly and trademark company ball cap pulled snug on her head. Lapis didn't think she'd ever seen her without that hat, despite it being an optional part of the uniform.

The diminutive woman gave her a playful punch on the arm. Lapis could only turn to gaze at her with a tear stained face. She didn't need sickly amounts of optimism to worsen her already abysmal attitude.

"Uh, Lazuli, are you gonna be alright?" Peridot's voice carried traces of concern, annoying as it was at the moment. Her green eyes searched Lapis' face for a clue as to what had happened in her absence.

"I'll be alright when I leave." Was the only response she gave.

Peridot was relatively familiar with her coworker at this point and opted not to pry any further. Instead she turned to the fryers, or more specifically, the person manning them. "Amethyst! You ever end up getting table three those fries they asked for?"

"Uhhh.... Yeah...?" A short, dark skinned girl with a massive shock of almost white hair answered. "At least, I think I probably did?"

"I mean, there isn't anyone at table three now so you must've!" Peridot started laughing even though that was far from a real joke. Amethyst couldn't help but join in. 

What a bunch of goons. Lapis wished the sun would explode already and just end her suffering. The couple of hours Peridot had been gone were a blessing. At least with Peridot out of shop there was some peace and quiet when customers weren't trying to talk her to death.

"Alright everyone, meet up in the storeroom as soon as the lunch rush ends! There's some info from the boss I got at the meeting today I have to pass on." Peridot had her hands proudly on her hips, as if going to one of the manager meetings was anything other than a chore to normal people. 

Eventually the shop did empty out, so Lapis and Amethyst met up with Peridot in the storage room. Lapis spent most of her time back here crying in frustration after dealing with especially difficult customers. She'd already been back here twice today.

"So! I've got good news and bad news." The assistant manager turned to the two of them with a wide grin. "The good news is that the renovation got approved! This place will be getting a complete makeover next month."

Neither Amethyst nor Lapis could have cared less about a renovation. They both knew this place should've been condemned years ago. It was a miracle nobody had died recently with all the obvious safety hazards. What difference did it make now? Then something in Amethyst's head clicked. "Wait, so does that mean we'll actually get time off while they're fixing it?"

Peridot clasped both hands behind her back as she paced the area they gathered in. "That's the bad news. It's not like we can keep the place open while they're tearing it apart, right?" Her green eyes rolled towards the ceiling. There was a pause while she waited for laughter that never came. 

She coughed loudly into her fist once she realized her joke had fallen on deaf ears. "Regardless, the store won't open again for two months at minimum, possibly four depending on how the renovation goes." Lapis felt her heart sink into her shoes. FOUR MONTHS?

"So you're telling me that I won't get paid for the next two to four months?" The words came out flat and monotone. First, the day had been full of getting yelled at for killing the planet. Now it was full of the prospect of going from minimum wage, to absolutely NO wage. A perfect cherry to put on this disaster sundae of a day.

"Well, it's funny you should mention that, Lazuli!" Peridot held her arms out wide to emphasize her point. "The boss man figured not getting paid for that long might be troublesome for some of us. So, he took the liberty of talking to the store manager at our sister location."

She did a little spin before finishing her thought. "He told me they're willing to give us some hours to make up for the lost work. It's not a lot since there's only so much they can free up, but it's better than nothing, right?"

Amethyst immediately lost interest in the conversation once the idea of a summer without work came up. Lapis, on the other hand, knew that she needed to get on board with whatever hours she could get. As much as the thought of working even another day here made being unemployed seem enticing, the idea of not being able to pay her rent was worse.  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The remainder of the day passed by slowly, but somehow Peridot managed to divert any unruly customer’s attention away from Lapis for the rest of it. Lapis thanked whatever higher power made that possible. Once the sun slid below the ocean’s horizon and the last customer had left, Peridot called for everyone to close up shop. As Lapis opened the front register’s drawer, her shoulders stiffened up in pain. She grit her teeth and windmilled her arms in a futile attempt to work out the knots. A defeated sigh escaped her when she eventually gave up. All that stress had to go somewhere, right? All Lapis wanted to do now was go home and try to get drunk before the lack of sleep caught up with her. 

"Lazuli!" Lapis sighed as she stopped her count of the register's contents. Turning around she found Peridot looking up at her more sheepishly than usual.

"The, uh, boss man wanted me to give you this." A standard envelope was pushed into her hands. It didn't even have her name on it. Their boss really knew how to be a lazy asshole.

"Also, I'm... Um, I'm sorry that today ended up being so rough for you..." Peridot was clearly referring to the woman that had brought tears to Lapis' eyes with her yelling and environmental vendetta.

"It's fine. I'm used to it." Blue eyes gazed to the side, unwilling to make contact with the green ones that searched her face. Her hand came up to the side of her head to fiddle with a heavily pierced ear. Fingers lingering on one in particular with a stone feather hanging from it.

"Amethyst and I can finish closing up here, if you wanted to head home." Lapis hadn’t expected Peridot to be so concerned about her well-being. It wasn’t like this had been the first day of it’s kind, but not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Lapis had no problem accepting the gesture.

"...Alright." She gathered her stuff and made a beeline for the door. As she pushed it open, connecting the store to a rush of damp night air, she felt like she had forgotten something.

"Hey, Peridot?" The small, blonde haired woman turned in response to her name. "Thanks."

Words couldn't describe the cheesy smile that lit up Peridot's face. Lapis felt heat rise in her cheeks and swiftly exited. Figuring she'd fulfilled her social obligation for the day, she hurried to her car. Something nagged at her though. Why had seeing Peridot smile like that make her face feel so warm? Maybe she was coming down with something. It certainly wouldn't come as a surprise after how stressful today had been.

After she climbed inside her car she remembered the envelope. "Oh, right. I still haven't opened it." Lapis had no clue what their boss possibly wanted to tell her that couldn't come from someone’s mouth.

With a tired groan she ripped off the top to free the single sheet of paper inside. On it were two handwritten words: YOU'RE FIRED. She felt the strength leave her body and her head fell forwards, her forehead connecting squarely with the steering wheel's center.  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Inside the shop, Peridot and Amethyst were finishing up the end of day checklist. Fryers cleaned? Check. Floor swept and mopped? Check. All tables reset for tomorrow? Check. Peridot crossed off the last few tasks and went to tell Amethyst she was free to leave. As she searched for her, the memory of Lapis thanking her resurfaced. "Hey, Peridot? Thanks." 

Warmth swept through her stomach, spreading all the way to her nose. Just remembering it made her smile like a doofus. If letting her leave early was all it took to hear that from her... Peridot was more than willing to pick up the slack to hear it again. Lapis really didn't know the effect she had on her.

She soon found Amethyst emerging from the bathroom, fully changed into her street clothing. "So, Peri, we good to blow this pop stand?"

Peridot gave her a double thumbs up. The two walked to the front door, shutting off every light on the way. "So, like, is Lapis gonna be okay? She didn't look so hot today."

Amethyst barely had time to voice her concern before Peridot's mind started to wander. Didn't look so hot? Are you BLIND? I'm surprised she didn't set off the fire alarms with how good she looked today. Dyeing her hair blue was completely unfair. A poke to the shoulder jolted her back to reality. "Are YOU gonna be okay?"

"Yes, of course! I, uh, was just thinking about something else, that's all." Peridot recieved a look that said: “More like thinking about SOMEONE else, right?” There was no way Amethyst had noticed how Peridot looked at Lapis... Was there? 

Her co-worker put an arm around her shoulders and pulled them close together. "You think I don't see how often you look at her when she 'aint payin' attention?" A wink told Peridot that her fears were justified.

"Why-! I have no idea w-what you're talking a-about!" The sputtering rebuttal only made Amethyst bust a gut laughing. She thought she'd been hiding those glances so well...

"You're so transparent it hurts!" Amethyst had a hard time holding back her laughter. "Why hello there Miss Lazuli, I couldn't help but notice you were looking fine as hell today." Peridot crossed her arms in front of her chest as Amethyst tried to mimic her voice.

"I'll just keep staring at you from afar until eventually someone else makes a move on you. Then I'll just go back to being a lonely nerd with an awful habit of bottling up my feelings~" As she finished her imitation she slugged Peridot on the arm. Peridot was NOT impressed and it had NOTHING to do with the fact Amethyst was right.

"Listen P-Dot, I'm just giving you a hard time." Amethyst flashed her a warm smile as she brought her arm down to her side. "It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know you're interested in her, ya doofus."

Peridot wanted to tell her how "interested" was an understatement, but past experience told her to keep those feelings to herself. So, she settled for a half-truth. "Don't tell Lazuli, but... I really do enjoy spending time with her..." As the last word passed her smiling lips, the sound of a car horn blared from the parking lot. What the hell?


End file.
